Volvo Is Probably Done Making Wagons

The headline-grabbing 2026 Volvo ES90 could very well be the genre-neutral future of the brand. As the Swedish automaker transitions into an electric vehicles-only lineup, the CEO says there will be no room or reason for tradition (i.e., wagons).

“It’s expensive to bring different models to the market, it’s expensive to keep those models in the market, and it’s expensive to launch them from a marketing point of view,” said Volvo Cars CEO Jim Rowan in an interview with Autocar.

Wait a minute. What was all that Volvo wagons 4EVA talk in 2022? Well, looking back with a new contacts prescription, former CEO Håkan Samuelsson wasn’t actually saying that wagons were staying. He was, in fact, telling us they were done.

There is a need for lower ride height vehicles in a conventional size (e.g., not a crossover/SUV), but less square, said Samuelsson. Specifically, that S (sedan) and V (versatility) model lines would “be replaced with something even more attractive to consumers.” The iconic boxy Volvo would be relegated to history books and replaced with a Volvo design language that is more aerodynamic and “coupé-ish.” Sounds a lot like the ES90, eh?

Current Volvo boss Rowan reaffirms, “We’re a reasonably small company with limited resources. We’re making very conscious choices about where we want to play the game and where we’re differentiated.”

Although Volvo has pushed back its EV lineup deadline to 2040, its long-term product plans remain. Rowan told Autocar that the brand is committed in principle to follow an “8×8” strategy, which means producing eight models over an eight-year cycle. Significant facelifts would occur at the midway point. That is a pretty tight window that could be further downsized to a “7×7” strategy. Either one squeezes out niche models like low-selling sedans and wagons—at least in the U.S.

Volvo canceled the standard V90 stateside and did the same across the pond with the V60 and V90. Or, rather, it tried. Actual consumer demand (not the “If they build a brown wagon with a stick shift” non-buyers) forced the estate cars back in the U.K. lineup. The sedans, however, are retired.

The U.S. market still has non-CUV Volvo options with gas and PHEV versions of the S60 and S90, as well as Cross Country variants of the V60 and V90, but for how long? The “60” cars were last redesigned in 2018 and the “90” models arrived in 2016. A complete kill-off, particularly the wagons, appears imminent.

“Yeah, because I think [the market] changed, right?” Rowan said. “It’s much, much cheaper and much more cost-effective for us to drive more volume through that same platform and that same form factor.”

Rowan adds, “Rather than bring a [redesigned] V90, for example, are we better to position [the XC60] in a slightly different way? We have the Black Edition, we have the Cross Country edition. So we then now have different editions of the same base car.”

An ES90 Polestar Engineered Black Edition Cross Country then? Maybe consumers will bite. Just make sure they can still order plaid seats.

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